Hot answers tagged time-management
28
I find the best way to get through scientific papers is to write as many of my own comments on the hard copy of the paper as possible - summary sentences, crossing out parts that were not relevant and writing ideas for things to follow up - when I'm done with a paper it looks like a mass of scribbles, but it has the advantage of engaging you properly with ...
25
Multi-tasking is deemed bad; so indeed, stay coding...
Figure out how to make your code compile faster, a very interesting thing to look into.
Figure out how to need less edit/complie cycles; defensive programming can help you avoid bugs.
Use Test Driven Development, so that you need to compile the tests rather than the whole product.
Think about the next ...
19
I'm not a software developer so hopefully this question isn't totally ignorant, but if you're doing tens of edit/compile cycles a day and each compile cycle takes 10 minutes, then it seems like a good use of that time would be using it to work on shortening the compile cycle.
You're talking about an hour of unproductive work a day--an hour I can see you ...
18
I don't know of any specific studies I can point to your question directly right now but:
In a class of pedagogy I was told that classes should be no longer than 50m because after that focus and concentration are severely impaired, and anything beyond 1h30m does not get assimilated at all. This seems to validate that: The Effect of Class Duration on ...
17
Inbox Zero: Overcoming E-mail Overload
The usual admonitions (refrain from "reply all", keep responses short, etc.) are about keeping the problem from getting worse. Merlin Mann's Inbox Zero is a system that can actually help solve the problem, and it starts with a basic axiom:
"Your inbox is not a to-do list;
it is for unprocessed e-mail,
and its ...
17
If you enjoy your cooking but don't wish to compromise what you cook, here are some speed-ups:
Minimise washing up if no dishwasher. Re-use bowls, giving them an instant rinse if necessary. Use just-emptied cans to measure liquids instead of measuring cups. Reuse measuring spoons by measuring out dry ingredients first (so they don't stick to a wet spoon), ...
16
I have been coming up against the same barrier since my children were born (six years and counting...:-). Although I haven't found a sweet spot yet, I found the following helpful
I work in the morning before everyone gets up, or in the evening after everyone has gone to sleep. It really depends on the type of person you are and your family situation.
I ...
15
Train your foreign language skills - try to name every subject, every thing yoo see, try to retell what did you do and see during that day, about some theme, about some dialog you have had recently listen. Write down new vocabulary, you don't know and you will need in your training. Try to learn this vocabulary.
I do often this training during my traveling. ...
15
I've started keeping a list of hobby-related things I want to do. I usually have ideas during my "alert" hours. Examples might be:
Learn to play song ________ on the piano
Write a Hello-World program in some new language
Then in the evening, when tiredness starts to set in and I feel myself tempted to veg out in front of the TV, I look at my list and ...
13
There are a few things I do, because very much like you with work, family, home there is very little time for side projects or as my wife says "do more work".
I spend some time up front (like 15 minutes) mapping out features, tasks, etc that need to be done to complete the project. I then group these into kind of logical stopping places (kind of like you ...
12
What I consider important in this matter is:
Try to reduce peer pressure / obligations to other gamers as much as possible. Play with friends instead of joining a clan.
Try to compete locally instead of globally. Try to beat your brother / friend in some game instead of #1 in world rankings.
Try to say no. If someone asks you to help him (in an instance) ...
12
Things that involve physical conditioning are better done for shorter periods but more frequently. If you go out and lift weights once a week for 4 hours, not only will you not build more muscle than if you split the lifting up over several days, you will be extremely sore the next day and may not even be able to finish the marathon session due to muscle ...
11
Pomodoros are an anti-procrastination technique more than anything else. It is for starting, not for stopping, work on a project. When the buzzer goes it means that you can give yourself permission to stop if you want to! After all, if you are really into it, why stop?
If you know you are only going to spend five minutes on a particular task, I would ...
11
Why not try reading a book? Fiction, or something related to an interest you have.
Or how about learning a craft, cooking etc.
The possibilities are endless.
Just turn the internet off - seriously - just turn the computer off and stand up. Make a cup of cocoa, go outside and watch the sunset.
11
Multitasking may feel more efficient, but research has shown that it will actually reduce your efficiency. This is because multi-tasking is more like rapid switching between single tasks and your brain needs time to focus at each task switch.
More on the multi-tasking myth from a computer science point of view can be found here
So it's best to do as much ...
10
Try to look at existing time management systems rather than starting from scratch and trying to reinvent the wheel. There isn't a number one tip for learning about your time management system to improve it, as it simply comes down to an effective study of how an improvement or a difference in your time system would improve how the time management system ...
10
Inbox Zero helps you work your Inbox towards zero e-mails, it will thus help you handle all your e-mails.
The best way would be to watch the video Reaching Inbox Zero, it's an hour though...
It is accompanied by a slide show, and his articles on 43 folders.
A concise introduction:
Your goal is to convert your mails to actions, and when they are done ...
10
That's tough. One option is to spend an hour a day on it after work. Progress is slow. But slow but steady is better than nothing. Planning on how you can make small tasks helps find the motivation. It's less overwhelming to create a form with one element than a whole app.
Other options are to work on it during your commute (if you take mass transit) ...
10
A couple ways I would do it:
1 way is to set intermediate deadlines. So in 1 week, you need to be 25% done, and in 2 weeks you need to be 50% done. You set the milestones depending on what kind of project is. So if it's a research paper, by week 1 you need to have the outline done. By week 2, you need to have a rough draft done, etc. When the first week ...
10
1) If i try to put myself in your shoes and try to figure out why it is so. I would first and foremost say i need some routine changes. i would induct some new activities in my routine. maybe i would start baking which i have done. it gives me lot of pleasure. maybe i would run away from everything for a month and see how it goes. maybe i would learn ...
9
I had the same problem as you and here's how I solved my problem. Bear in mind that while this worked for me, it's not a "one size fits all" situation.
Clean your subscriptions
removed most of my feeds
kept the ones from authors with really great content, which I read 90% of the time
kept work-related feeds (security updates, partners feeds, competitors ...
9
Email tends to be a time sink, in order to tame it, aim to keep an empty inbox, and only handle each message once. http://www.43folders.com/izero - deal with it at the time you read it, delete what you can, archive what you must. Anything you defer, put on your task list and get it out of your inbox (obviously, if you follow the GTD system, take a minute to ...
9
Write it down
Write down everything you want to focus on for the next few hours.
Prioritise it
Quickly work out what is more important. Delete things that may now seem unimportant.
Concentrate on one thing
Then for the next 25 minutes just do that one thing. Do not allow yourself to be distracted. Set a timer. Look up the Pomodoro Technique as a guide.
...
9
If I'm working at home, I'm setting the job to ring an audible bell (I like working in screen, so when I'm waiting for something to complete, I just switch windows and screen will notify me of any new output in the background window), or display a widely visible notification when done. I then can go around and do some household chores, each of them dreaded ...
9
I can think of three choices:
Read (like when people read a magazine in the bathroom or Google puts up their "testing in the toilet" newsletter on the wall of the stall.
Think/relax/take a break - it is possible to be too productive. This is one of the few times nobody is talking you to you. Sometimes if you let your brain relax, ideas will come to you. ...
8
ManicTime is a time tracking solution that has been worked out well over the years, it has the following features and comes in a free and paid version:
Auto tracking of computer usage
Manictime sits in the background and records your activities, so you can just forget it is there and focus on your work. When you are finished you can use collected data to ...
8
Decompress while it's compiling. Your right brain will continue to work on coding. Don't do something else productive. Watch some semi-lame movie that's barely enough to keep your interest. Read your rss feeder desultorily. Capture ideas and todo items that pop into your head during this time. A 10 minute break is nothing. Work out a little, stretch, walk ...
8
ManicTime is a time tracking application that allows you to collect your time spent, use it to denote what you spent your time on and analyze where you spent your time. This allows you track your tasks, and more than that if you feel it could be useful in other parts of your life.
Auto tracking of computer usage
Manictime sits in the background and ...
8
I use text expansion all the time for:
Repetitive emails. Responses to common questions, templates for checking in on assignments with teammates, and templates for scheduling meetings are all candidates for text expansion. If I typed something similar this week, it probably is worth a snippet.
Stock phrases. My company name, website, and email address all ...
8
I am not a gamer myself, but when I focus really hard on something, it is easy to lose track of time. It is not that I want or have planned to spend all that time, it just happens since I don't look at the clock.
Since you want to cut down on your gaming, you are aware of the situation. In that case, I guess the most simple solution would be to use a ...
Only top voted, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible
